Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said he is working on forming a group of leaders that “prefer to talk about peace rather than war,” in hopes of ending the conflict through diplomatic means.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva: “President Putin does not take the initiative to stop. Zelensky does not take the initiative to stop. Europe and the United States contribute to the continuation of this war. I think we need to sit at a table and say, ’That’s enough. Let’s start talking,’ because war never brought and will never bring any benefit to humanity.”

Lula, who was speaking from Abu Dhabi, said he had discussed joint mediation efforts with the United Arab Emirates, as well as China, which he visited last week. In China, Lula also focused on rebuilding Brazil’s diplomatic relationship with Beijing and agreed to expand cooperation on trade, technology and other areas.